Thursday, February 26, 2009

Fam Friday: Meet Lou Lou Belle

"Cake" Self portrait by Lou Lou Belle, herself

Len, Lenny, Lenlet, Lizbo, Linzafee, Lizzy, Yinzy, Zinzy, ZeeZee, Lou Lou Belle, Lou Lou, or just plain Lou. These are a few of the more popular choices in nick names that our family uses for our baby sister, Lindsey.

Born at the tail end of a boisterous brood of nine children, Lindsey is the crown jewel of our family. She was born brilliant and we all like to think that she has a little piece of each of us in her upbringing. I'm sure at times, Lindsey has felt more like the caboose of the family rather than the crown jewel. She reflects often that she felt looked over by the crowd as a child (we all did Lou), not really having a voice among the hoard of bubbling children. She would speak very loudly and I can still remember my siblings saying, "LINDSEY, you don't have to talk so LOUD!" If I could transport myself back in time, I would have picked up that curly headed little girl and let her yell as loudly as she desired right into my ear drum.

Lindsey had to learn to speak loudly and to have opinions. No doubt this was a survival tactic. I hope she can now see the advantage of having to be strong in a society of chaos. She is still beautifully opinionated, bold, and multi-talented. Living on her own, carving out a temporary living as a waitress and putting herself through the Art program at the U of U, she is more than just "surviving" these days. She is downright frickin' AWESOME.

As you walk into the front room of Lindsey's early 1900's apartment in downtown Salt Lake City, your jaw drops in wonder. The light spills in from the streetside window onto a chalky deep blue-green wall adorned with empty antique picture frames. Found art intrigues at every corner. A coral colored velvet sofa beckons one to sit. A floor lamp concocted out of found parts from thrift stores provides light. Her vintage guitar sits in the corner and of course, sculptures by Esmeralda herself make for the best of conversation pieces.

Lindsey is an artist at her very core. A Jack of many trades, she once studied sound recording technology before switching to art. She is a knockout songwriter, and has a stellar "speak-y" quality singing voice if that makes any sense. She let me steal an awesome line to one of her songs to insert into one of mine ("You Don't Define Me" found on the red ipod to the right). Did I mention her wicked guitar skills?

A few years back Lenny lived in my basement apartment. Oh, how I miss those days. I used to get intense neck and shoulder pain (which I don't miss) and Lindsey would always massage it out for me on her bed while I cried into her pillow. Then there were the times when we would sit and listen to awesome music, talking about this and that concerning song writing and mixes.

There are few people that possess a heart as accepting as Lou Lou's. It's a relief to know I can go to her with things I would normally speak of to no one. Thanks for listening to my junk Lenny. You're my best friend. And just for the record, you're still brilliant.